UPS Says Holiday Volume to Grow

UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company, expects to carry 400 million packages worldwide during the holiday season between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year.

UPS said that number is slightly higher than last year, when the peak season contracted. The forecast is in line with a projection from the National Retail Federation that U.S. holiday volume in retail stores will gain by just 1 percent over last year’s level.

Monday, Dec. 21, will be the busiest day of the year for UPS, as the company anticipates delivering approximately 22 million packages within 24 hours. That’s about a 40 percent increase over normal daily delivery volumes. To support the spike in volume, UPS plans to hire approximately 50,000 seasonal workers.

While most UPS ground packages reach their destinations in three business days or less, last minute shoppers can ship as late as Wednesday, Dec. 23 for next day delivery, UPS said. The company expects to deliver more than 6 million air packages that day. UPS Airlines will fly more than 330 additional flights per day during the four days leading up to Friday, Dec. 25.

Contact Thomas L. Gallagher at tgallagher@joc.com.